Chapter 3: Five Animal Fist: Instant Beginner!

That night, the oil lamp in the gatehouse burned like a tiny bean of fire.

Jiang Ye turned the pages of the yellowed book, *Five Animal Fist*, one by one, with his withered fingers.

His movements were slow, yet his gaze grew ever brighter.

When he closed the final page, he sat still for a moment, a flicker of awe deep within his cloudy eyes.

“This Five Animal Fist isn’t simple...”

Though Liu Qingshi said this fist technique was meant for health, with little offensive power.

But with Jiang Ye’s extraordinary comprehension, he could sense its true profundity.

The Five Animal Fist imitates the postures and spirit of tiger, deer, bear, monkey, and bird—emphasizing intent over force.

Tiger form is mighty, deer form is expansive, bear form is steady, monkey form is light and nimble, bird form is ethereal.

“This fist technique is certainly far deeper than Shatter Mountain Fist.”

Jiang Ye slowly set down the book and, under the dim lamplight in the cramped gatehouse, adopted the clearest ‘Bear Form’ stance from memory, sinking his waist and hips, arms loosely cradled.

His movements still carried the stiffness of old age, joints emitting faint creaks.

Though he had only stood the stance for moments, Jiang Ye felt as if his body had repeated it thousands of times.

But when his mind sank into the image of “steady as a mountain, power rising from the ground”—

“Five Animal Fist proficiency +3!”

A status panel surfaced in Jiang Ye’s mind.

Name: Jiang Ye

Lifespan: 75 years

Destiny: Ascend to Divine Steps [Effect 1: Extraordinary Comprehension]

Mastered Martial Art: Five Animal Fist [Beginner, 3/100]

Jiang Ye blinked in surprise.

This system panel made him feel more vividly just how terrifying his extraordinary comprehension truly was.

Ordinary disciples needed at least a month to reach beginner level—he’d achieved it just by standing a stance?!

“One day equals a year...”

Jiang Ye suppressed his inner exhilaration and scanned the ‘Tiger Form’ diagram.

His mind shifted instantly, imagining a tiger crouched on a rock, shoulders slightly raised, forming the ‘Tiger Form’ stance.

“Five Animal Fist proficiency +3!”

About an hour later.

Mastered Martial Art: Five Animal Fist [Beginner, 57/100]

Jiang Ye slowly ended the final ‘Bird Form’ stance, his chest rising and falling slightly, white breath condensing into fleeting clouds in the cold room.

He stood still, eyes lowered, feeling.

He had practiced all five stances several times over.

Now, he felt as if his sinews and bones had been heated by a furnace, his shoulders and neck tingling with warmth.

“If I keep going, I’ll likely reach Jin.”

Feeling the heat within, Jiang Ye’s cloudy eyes brightened.

He’d guarded the martial school for twenty years—he might never have eaten pork, but he’d seen pigs run.

He knew this heat was refining his blood and qi.

The first step in martial foundation was refining Jin!

When a martial artist refined his blood and qi enough, he could break through and attain Ming Jin.

Once Ming Jin emerged, his strength, speed, and resilience would diverge qualitatively from ordinary people.

Only then would he truly enter the hall, stepping beyond “just stronger than common folk.”

Most of the inner disciples at Qing Shi Martial Academy reached this level.

“Huh... my head’s starting to spin.”

Jiang Ye was about to continue training.

A sudden dizziness, like a cold iron hammer, slammed into the back of his skull.

Simultaneously, his hollow stomach convulsed violently; his limbs and bones flooded with unbearable emptiness and weakness.

The body that had just burned like a furnace rapidly cooled, replaced by a chill and frailty seeping from his very marrow.

Hungry!

A hunger so immense it threatened to swallow him whole surged like a tide.

Jiang Ye staggered, gripping the edge of the table to keep from collapsing.

Dammit!

His heart sank—he instantly understood.

His body couldn’t keep up.

[Extraordinary Comprehension] allowed him to grasp the fist’s intent and refine his blood and qi at a terrifying pace.

But this seventy-year-old, decaying shell, sustained only by meager meals, simply couldn’t endure such violent combustion and energy drain!

Fortunately, the table still held the mung bean cakes Su Yan had given him—he devoured the last two in one gulp.

Instantly, a faint warmth spread from his stomach, flowing toward his icy limbs.

He slid slowly to the floor, back against the cold leg of the table, closed his eyes, and waited for his body to recover from this sudden ordeal.

After a long while, the terrifying dizziness and weakness eased slightly.

Jiang Ye lifted his hand with effort, wiping the cold sweat from his face, lips cracked and dry.

He looked at the *Five Animal Fist* book on the table, then down at his own withered, trembling hands.

The fire in his eyes had cooled, replaced by a deeper, quieter understanding.

“Eat your meals one bite at a time, walk your path one step at a time...”

Jiang Ye muttered softly, voice hoarse.

Blood-Boosting Soup!

He remembered Liu Qingshi’s arrangement—he must collect it on time tomorrow.

After a while, Jiang Ye slowly rose, still weak but with his basic mobility restored.

“I’ll just use the latrine and go to bed.”

Jiang Ye shook his foggy head, pushed open the door, and stepped outside.

At his age, if he didn’t relieve himself before bed, he’d be getting up multiple times during the night.

No sooner had he stepped out than he rounded a patch of leafless bamboo.

Jiang Ye caught a faint, refreshing fragrance drifting from beside him.

He paused, turning his head.

Beneath the clear moonlight, a tall, slender figure walked slowly along another corridor.

She wore a fitted black training suit, her dark hair tied simply at the nape, revealing a pale, delicate oval face.

Her features were exquisite, yet veiled in a thin layer of ice, radiating a cold aloofness that kept all at a distance.

Most striking were her long, straight legs—each step carried rhythm, silent and fluid, clearly indicating exceptional lower-body cultivation.

The woman was none other than Liu Qingshi’s only daughter, Liu Yiyi.

“Miss.”

Jiang Ye bowed slightly.

Liu Yiyi, hearing his voice, finally turned her gaze from the empty night ahead and fixed it on Jiang Ye.

She nodded, her icy face expressionless, offering only a cool reply: “Jiang Lao.”

Her voice matched her demeanor—clear, yet chilled.

With that, she moved on without pause, passing right by Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye straightened, watching her vanish into the distance, his cloudy old eyes undisturbed.

Jiang Ye had watched her grow up—he knew this girl was simply this detached by nature, not disdainful of others.

“Superior roots... Hidden Jin cultivation...”

Jiang Ye silently repeated the evaluation he’d overheard from Liu Qingshi’s occasional remarks.

This girl was among the few inner disciples who had broken through the Hidden Jin barrier.

Hidden Jin and Ming Jin differed by only one character, yet they marked the first true dividing line on the martial path.

Ming Jin emits power outward—forceful, visible, capable of shattering stone.

Hidden Jin, however, refines power into supple, continuous force that penetrates the body, injuring internal organs invisibly, demanding far greater control over energy and blood circulation.

In this small Anxi County, achieving Hidden Jin was enough to secure a position as a guest instructor for a caravan company or wealthy household.

Truly, one entered the ranks of “experts”—respected, well-fed, secure.

In the past, Jiang Ye would have deemed such heights unattainable.

Now...

Jiang Ye smiled faintly and shuffled onward toward the latrine.